Good Soldiers Do What is Right
by Grubkiller19
Summary: In the final hours of the Clone Wars, as Order 66 is issued, a squad of clone commandoes defy their new Emperor, and will soon face the consequences of their actions.


**Hey folks, Grubkiller here.**

**This is a shirt story based off of the Legends clone unit, Ion Team, from the book, STAR WARS: Dark Lord, the Rise of Darth Vader, by the fantastic author James Luceno.**

**Hope that you enjoy.**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Imperial Center, Imperial Naval Intelligence HQ, prison wing_.

Coruscant.

Once the crown jewel of the Republic, and a symbol of freedom and democracy for the entire galaxy, was now nothing more than a symbol of the iron-fisted oppression that the Emperor used to reign over it.

In the weeks following the end of the Clone Wars, and the destruction of the Jedi Order, it has been nothing but jack-boots marching in the streets of the Federal District, under the thunderous applause of millions of people handing over their liberty for security.

And from this planet, and many other Core Worlds, in the wake of the CIS dissolution, Imperial forces were expanding outward to assist in the occupation of the recently pacified Outer Rim territories.

At the center of this expansionist, militaristic agenda was the Imperial Naval Intelligence HQ

Designed and constructed by architect Orson Krennic earlier in the Clone Wars, this complex had served as the operation hub and strategic center for the Grand Army of the Republic and the Navy.

It had a courtyard with a monument, called the First Battle Memorial, which commemorated the Republic military personnel who fell during the battle of Geonosis. It had an airfield that the Republic Navy used to ferry supplies between the surface and the planet's orbit.

It also had a detention wing, which housed some of the most notorious war criminals in the Republic's custody.

Though most of this stayed the same, the one difference was that of the banner being Imperial, and not of the Republic.

In the prison wing, however, a most peculiar sight to behold was the three clones being escorted through the prison under armed guard, and bound at the wrists.

They were Captain Climber, Sergeant Tracer, and Corporal Ras. And they weren't just any clones. Sure they looked and talked the same, but they just as individual as any person had the right to be... to a fault in the age of the Empire, for these clones had disobeyed orders.

Not just any orders, but orders that they were born to fulfill.

The execution of Order 66.

Their story begins in the waning hours of the Clone Wars.

* * *

_Murkhana, final hours of the Clone Wars_.

_Dropping into swirling clouds conjured by Murkhana's weather stations, a flight of Republic gunships were just launched moments earlier from the forward hold of the RSV Gallant - a Victory-class Star Destroyer, harried by Vulture and droid tri-fighters._

_Standing closest to the sliding door that normally sealed the troop bay was Captain Climber, a Republic Commando officer, and next to him was Roan Shryne, the Jedi General he was assigned to._

_The were awaiting High Command's word to commence its own descent through Murkhana's artificial ceiling._

_Beside and behind the two men stood a platoon of Clone commandoes, helmets affixed to their armored suits, blasters cradled in their arms, utility belts slung with ammo magazines, talking among themselves the way seasoned warriors often did before battle. Alleviating misgiving with inside jokes; references General Shrine couldn't begin to understand, beyond the fact that they were grim._

_The gunship's inertial compensators allowed them to stand in the by without being jolted by flaring antiaircraft explosions or jostled by the gunshot pilots' evasive maneveuring through the corkscrewing missiles, lasers, and storms of white-hot shrapnel. Because the same Separatists that had manufactured the clouds had misted Murkhana's air with a brutal rain storm, proper orbital scans became difficult, and orbital bombardments were taken off the table for the duration of gunship insertion._

_"The Koorivar have done a good job with their weather machines," Captain Climber said to General __Shryne. "Whipped up one brute of a sky. We used the same tactic on Paarin Minor. Drew the Seppies into fabricated clouds and blew them to the back of beyond."_

_Shryne laughed without merriment. "Good to see you can still appreciate the little things, Captain."_

_"What else is there,General."_

_Before Shryne could answer, the gunship jolted from another blast as it continued to descend. "Corporate Alliance weapons should have us in target lock by now," Climber said._

_Other assault ships were also punching through the cloud cover, only to be greeted by flocks of incoming missiles. Struck by direct hits, two, four, then five craft were blown apart, flaming fuselages and mangled troopers plummeting into the churning scarlet waves of Murkhana Bay._

_Gunners ensconced in the gunship's armature-mounted ball turrets opened up with blasters as flights of Mankvim interceptors swarmed up to engage the Republic strike force. Dozens of the Separatist crafts succumbed to the ball turret beams and missiles spewed from the gunship's top-mounted mass-drive launchers._

_"High Command should have granted our request to bombard from orbit," Climber said in an amplified voice._

_"The idea is to **take** the city, Captain, not vaporize it," Shryne said loudly. Murkhana had already been granted weeks to surrender, but the Republic ultimatum had expired. "Palpatine's policy for winning the hearts and minds of Separatist populations might not make good military sense, but it makes good political sense."_

_Climber stared at him from behind the visor. "We're not interested in politics."_

_Shryne laughed shortly. "Neither were the Jedi."_

_"Why fight if you we're bred for it?"_

_"To serve what remains of the Republic." Shryne's __brief vision of the war's end returned, and he adopted a rueful grin. "Dooku's dead. Grievous is being hunted down. If it means anything, I suspect it'll be over soon."_

_"The war, or our standing shoulder to shoulder?"_

_"The war, Captain."_

_"What becomes of the Jedi, then?"_

_"We'll do what we have always done: follow the Force."_

_"And the Grand Army?" Climber asked._

_"Shryne regarded him. "Help us preserve the peace."_

* * *

_Coruscant, present_.

Captain Climber and his two men were placed in the middle of a large courtroom, overseen by a military tribunal.

When the military judges walked in, everyone rose out of respect, before they were told to be seated. The judges looked over the three clones, still wearing their black body-gloves and their leg armor.

"Captain Climber, 22nd Air Combat Wing, Ion Team. You are being charged with dereliction of duty, the refusal to follow the orders of your superiors, and have conducted open and violent rebellion against the soldiers of the Empire. "How do you plead?"

The captain just looked at the judges with a cold stare before he gave an answer that shocked everyone in the room.

"Not guilty."

There then a torrent of jeers and chattering politicians, military officials, and even civilians, who were clearly disgusted by what the clone captain just said.

The main judge banged his gavel against the table. "Order in the court!"

Everyone stopped, and then the judge leaned over the table to look at the captain in the eye, as if sizing him up.

"Not guilty?"

"Yes, Sir."

The judge leaned back and clasped his hands together.

"Explain."

* * *

_Murkhana, past_.

_As the main landing took place on the other side of the City, Captain Climber and his man, and three of the six Jedi on the entire planet, landed behind enemy lines and launched an attack on the enemy shield generator complex, which was protecting the Separatist fortifications around the city._

_When General Shryne gave the order to commence the attack, Climber's men, who were gathered around the droid base's perimeter and started equipping their DC-17 rifles with Anti-Armor attachments, before they started bombarding the building with the grenade rounds. _

_Several explosions ripped into the side of the building, blasting several droids apart along with their emplacements._

_"Clones! Blast them!" The battle droid commander called out._

_Moments later, several dozen battle droids began to slowly march on the platoon's position, supported by spider droids and SBD's. But Master Shryne and the clones held firm, digging in behind cover and firing back with Anti-Armor rounds, grenades, and portable blaster turrets, as the Jedi Knight started taking down droids with their own firepower with each expert swing of his lightsaber._

_But while most of the clones were launching a frontal attack with Master Shryne, the real attack was going on right now, As Jedi Knight Bol Chatak, a female Zabrak, and her padawan, Olee Starstone, a female human, took Captain Climber and three of his men around the enemy base._

_The two female Jedi drew their blue lightsabers and charged at the few droid sentries on the side of the building. The droids noticed, but were cut down or blasted before they could make a sound. _

_When the coast was clear, the commandoes placed small detonators on the locking mechanism, blasting it apart and allowing the doors to fly open. When that happened, both Jedi were met with a maelstrom of blaster fire, which they started to deflect, as Climber and one of his men tossed EC detonators, aka 'droid-poppers', through the door, frying the droid circuits when they detonated._

_When the doorway was clear, the Jedi and clones split up, blasting or hacking droids apart throughout the building, clearing it out from bottom to top. When it was all clear, one of Climber's men placed explosives on the columns that supported the building._

_When everyone was safely outside of building, Climber hit the detonator, and then four successive explosions went off, then the building began to collapse, right on top of the __main shield generator._

_Then, the skies cleared up, allowing a massive Republic naval bombardment began to hammer the city, destroying many emplacements, and clearing the way for the other Jedi Knights to lead the assault on the city._

_Hours later, as the droid army was being reduced to small pockets of resistance, the three Jedi, Climber noticed, were becoming quite faint. When asked what was wrong, one of them answered with: "I feel a disturbance in the force."_

_And then moments later, Climber received a message on his communicator._

_He answered, and a holographic projection of a small hooded figure.  
_

_"Captain Climber. The time has come," the mysterious figure said, "Execute Order 66."_

* * *

_Coruscant, present day_.

"So, that's the story, your honor."

People began to chatter back and forth with one another, as they were baffled by what they were just told. A clone disobeying orders was unheard of. So to see it happening was surreal at best.

"Captain Climber. By the powers vested in me by the new Imperial constitution, I nearby sentence you, and your co-conspirators to execution by firing squad."

* * *

_Murkhana, on the outskirts of the city, past._

_When Order 66 was issued from Emperor Palpatine on Coruscant, Clone Commander Salvo ordered the ten commandos of Ion Squad to ambush Shryne and the two Jedi that the commando squad had accompanied on their infiltration mission. _

_Ion's leader, Captain Climber, refused his command, disbelieving its authenticity, and Ion Team set a counter-ambush for Salvo and his men as they lay in wait for the Jedi. Though non-lethal, Ion's disruptive ambush rendered the standard clones unable to prevent the Jedi from escaping. Salvo, furious at Climber's treasonous actions, reported him to his superiors._

_A couple days ater, after Ion saw to it that the three Jedi escaped into the woods, under disguise, a Theta-class shuttle carrying the Emperor's new enforcer touched down, and Darth Vader went to confront these traitorous clones._

_"I have come to deal with the ones who allowed the Jedi to escape." Vader said as he drew himself erect with a haughty air. "Which one of you allowed their __escape?"_

_Climber immediately stepper forward. "That would be me."_

_"And us," the rest of the commandoes announced in unison._

_Vader stared down at them. "You disobeyed a direct order from High Command."_

_"The order made no sense at the time," Climber said, answering for everyone. "We thought it might be a Separatist trick."_

_"What you 'thought' has no bearing on this," Vader said, pointing at the Captain. "You are expected to follow orders."_

_"And we follow any reasonable ones. Killing our own didn't qualify."_

_Vader continued to point his forefinger at Climber's chest. "They weren't your allies, squad leader. They were traitors, and you sided with them."_

_Climber stood his ground. "Traitors how? Because a few of them supposedly tried to arrest Palpatine? I still don't see how that warrants a death penalty for the lot of them."_

_"I'll be sure to notify the Emperor of your __concerns," Vader said._

_"You do that."_

_One of the clones swallowed hard. Jedi had tried to arrest Palpatine. And since when did the Republic have an Emperor?_

_"Unfortunately," Vader said, "you won't be alive to learn of his response." In one swift motion he drew his cloak and pulled a lightsaber from his belt. Igniting it with a **snap-hiss**__, the hilt projected a crimson blade._

_If the commandoes were confused earlier, they were overwhelmed now. They've never seen a warrior with a red lightsaber before. But they heard the stories of Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku, even Maul and his late brother._

_The ten commandoes fell back, raising their weapons. _

_"We'll accept execution for our actions," Climber said. "But not from some lapdog of the so-called 'Emperor.'"_

_Quickly Salvo and his men stepped forward, but Vader only showed them the palm of his hand. "No, Commander. Leave this to me."_

_With that he moved on the commandoes._

_"Weapons free!"_

_Spreading out, they fired, but not a single bolt made it past Vader's blade. Deflected bolts went straight through the visors of two commandoes. Then, in two furious sweeps, Vader used his blade to open another pair of troopers from shoulder to hip, as if they were flimsy ration containers._

_Climber and his five remaining men spread out further, to try and hit the Dark Lord from multiple angles. It seemed to be working, as Vader was not able to block all of the bolts. But when the commandoes learned that his armor was quite durable, one of them fired an anti-armor round at him, which was about to explode before Vader used the force to keep the blast contained. When the grenade round finally went off, it looked as though Vader was struggling to keep a tiny star from going supernova._

_He threw it away, not caring that the blast vaporized Commander Salvo and three of his men, to the shock of the other Clone Stormtroopers._

_In that moment, an EC detonator landed at his feet. As more blue bolts deflected off his armor, Vader tried to use the force to contain this one as well, but he was too late, as blue arcs of energy short-circuited his suit._

_Even his life-support systems._

_As he struggled to breath, he could here Climber shout out to his men: "Now's our chance, run!"_

_Climber and his men made a run for the tree-line. But before they could, a struggling Vader reached out with the force and grabbed three of the fleeing troopers, who dropped their weapons and reached for their throats, which were slowly being crushed by an invisible force. Suddenly, all three commandoes flew towards Vader, and when they were close enough, Vader, in a swift motion, slashed his blade through all three troopers' necks, decapitating all three._

_Vader then dropped to his knees and struggled to reactivate his life-support system, all while parting shots from Climber and his two men pinged off of his armor. One final deflection shot from Vader caught Climber in the leg, but it didn't so much as slow him down_

_When his armor reactivated, a took in a deep breath and struggled to get back up. He was still getting used to his new armor, which was proving to be a burden._

_"Lord Vader. What are you're orders?" Commander Appo asked as the three fugitives fled into the woods._

_Vader tracked them, then motioned to his cadre of Imperial troopers. "I want them **alive**, Commander Appo. Judgment awaits them on Coruscant." _

* * *

_Coruscant, present day._

Climber, Tracer, and Ras were escorted through the prison with their wrists and ankles bound, and under heavy guard.

They were eventually brought out to a large area, where dozens of officers had come to bare witness to the troopers' execution. Climber noticed a familiar black-armored figure, standing behind the shoulder of a withered old man in a black cloak.

He made eye-contact with the Dark Lord's emotionless mask and smirked. He watched as Vader crossed his arms over his chest. He had obviously struct a nerve.

All three troopers came to a stop in front of a line of clone troopers, who were standing at attention, which heavy rifles over their shoulders. One officer stepped forward. "Will the prisoners request to be blind-folded?" None of the three clones said a word. "I'll take that as a no. Any last words?"

Climber stepped forward.

"This is all wrong. And you all know it. You aren't droids, you're men. You are supposed to follow orders, yes. But we all need to know how to tell right from wrong. The Jedi Knights were our generals. If it weren't for them, we would all be swimming in clankers right now. And we betrayed them. You all need to fight this, and prove that we're not mindless droids with a set programming. We are men, and someday, the so-called Emperor will have to see that. But by then, it will be to late for him. Even if we're killed today, others will rise in our place."

Tracer and Ras stepped forward as well, standing shoulder to shoulder with their captain.

Brother to the end.

The firing squadmembers' rifles began to shake in their hands, before the officers finally shouted: "Fire!"

As the bolts were fired, and began to fly towards them in slow motion, they couldn't help but think back at that day. Despite their eventual capture, not before taking 12 enemy combatants with them. and embarrassing Lord Vader, they were able to get the Jedi to safety.

And s their bodies hit the floor, what Captain Climber said earlier, would have an impact on some of the young officers watching.

Because of these men, the Jedi Order would live on, and maybe even rebuild, and eventually this new darkness that has taken over the galaxy will one day be defeated.

And it was a squad of defiant clone commandoes that lit the first match that would light the path to the eventual downfall of the Sith.

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**Well folks, that's the end of my short story.**

**Hope you enjoyed.**

**Until next time, this is Grubkiller, over and out.**


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